The Bridge: Lost Hits vs. Legacy Hits

[This edition of my Hit Parade—“The Bridge” bonus series is available to Slate Plus subscribers only. A link to the episode show page is below. To sign up for Plus—and tell Slate that Hit Parade sent you!—visit slate.com/hitparadeplus.]

In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy welcomes radio industry analyst and programming consultant Sean Ross, editor of the Ross on Radio newsletter. Sean’s ongoing “Lost Hits” series analyzes how big hits in their day might go unplayed on the radio today—songs like Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” or Buckner & Garcia’s “Pac-Man Fever.” And he and Chris also talk about how “legacy hits”—the opposite of lost hits—wind up becoming radio programmers’ go-to favorites, from “Super Freak” to “Brown Eyed Girl.”

Next, Chris quizzes a Slate Plus listener with some music trivia, gives him a chance to turn the tables with a question of his own, and previews next month’s full-length episode. Slate Plus members can sign up for a chance to be our trivia contestant on a future episode here.

Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.

A promotional note for listeners in South Carolina! On Thursday, October 20, at 6:30 p.m., Chris will be making a live appearance at the Richland Public Library, sponsored by the University of South Carolina’s School of Information and Communications. It’s free and open to the public. Chris’s talk will be about “Pop Culture, Music, and South Carolina,” and his discussion of a certain Palmetto State musician may make it into a future Hit Parade episode. More details here.